2006, london and goodwood - part one

2006 was a big year. Victoria and I got married in March, and by that time we had decided to give living in the UK another go. So in May we were off to try our luck living halfway around the world. On the way we spent a month driving around the west coast of the USA, but that’s another story. When we arrived in London, we were very graciously hosted by Cate, a friend of Victoria’s, in East Acton. We were dossing on the floor of her lounge which would have been fine but for the many Brazilians (people, that is) also inhabiting the flat. To their credit, they were very kind to us, and tried not to disturb us as they stepped over us on their way to the kitchen.

On Friday, after only a couple of days of adjustment, we were off to spend the weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. As accommodation was scarce and expensive around Goodwood, we decided to drive there from Acton each day. We picked up the car (a brand new Civic) from Budget Rentals near Heathrow and headed South straight away. Once we had left the motorways, the drive to Goodwood was absolutely beautiful, and the perfect re-introduction to England. We made our way through several small villages, each more postcard-perfect than the last, filled with homes ranging from simply old to truly ancient. The placement of one house in the middle of what should have been the road, forcing us to cut a sharp dog-leg around it, seemed charmingly eccentric. Even the weather gods were particularly kind to us with bright and sunny conditions the whole journey, although once we got to the Festival, a light drizzle had descended. That did nothing to dampen our enthusiasm though, and we found a good spot next to the hill straight of the hillclimb course. We had arrived in time to see the modern Formula 1 cars make their way up the hill, their buzzsaw scream cutting through us , provoking instant goosebumps. But not as much as the thunderous baritone of the 1970’s Formula 5000 cars, all primary colours and improbable wings.

Aston DBR9 about to show off with a tire-smoky launch

After an hour or so of watching cars blat up the hillclimb course, we moved on to the rally stage in the wooded area at the top of the hill. We got there as the programme was close to ending for the day, but not late enough to miss Colin McRae go flying past in his Impreza. Once we’d had our fill of rally spectating, we headed to the main paddock outside Goodwood house itself where the Concours d’Elegance (Cartier Style et Luxe) was held. I was stunned by the quality of the machinery here – there were some incredibly rare, beautiful and just plain noteworthy cars such as the 1938 Phantom Corsair. I spent some time admiring the group of Lamborghini Miuras, especially the SVJ special.